Nearly from the moment LeBron James opted into his $52.6 million contract for the 2025-26 season, there’s been speculation that he could be traded from the Los Angeles Lakers. While there’s a great amount of interest from other teams in trading for LeBron, that feeling isn’t mutual in LA.
While a LeBron trade doesn’t appear to be in the cards this offseason, it doesn’t mean everything is peachy between the Lakers and the future first-ballot Hall of Famer.
According to Clutch Points’ Anthony Irwin, there’s been “real frustration” from LeBron’s side on the team’s “lack of direction” really ever since the Russell Westbrook trade occurred back in February of 2023.
“On LeBron James’ side, there is real frustration over the Lakers’ lack of direction since the Russell Westbrook trade. The whole thing has become pretty awkward, and yet the reality is they’re both better off with each other. There is no trade the Lakers would make that would give James a better chance at a title than he has playing with Doncic.”
ClutchPoints’ Anthony Irwin on LeBron James
Since the Westbrook trade seems to be a point of contention between LeBron and the Lakers, it’s time to take another look at that deal from just over two years ago.
The Lakers wound up dealing Westbrook to the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team trade in which Los Angeles got D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt in return. Along with Westbrook, the Lakers also parted ways with Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones, and their first-round pick in the 2027 NBA Draft.
Later after trading Westbrook, the Lakers still managed to reach the Western Conference Finals. Perhaps LeBron felt the Lakers could have made a different decision that earned them another series win in the NBA Finals.
Yet, their performance declined in the next two seasons, resulting in their elimination in the first round of the playoffs two years in a row. While Vanderbilt is still on the roster, he’s played in just 91 games across three seasons. Both Russell and Beasley have since moved on to other teams.
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